Exchange Rate Now!

As we step into this new year, we left behind 2009 in what was a tumultous year where exchange rate is concerned. We stepped into year 2009 where oil prices declined steeply, before a sharp upturn occurred in the later part of the year. We stepped into 2009 where the world financial markets was reeling from bank collapse before stock market climbed in the later part of the year.

We stepped into year 2009 when the US Dollar was strengthening against all other major currencies and the US Dollar finished on a strong note.

Here are some of the possible predictions for year 2010.

1. US Dollar continue to appreciate – Year 2010 might be another good year for US Dollar, at least in the early part of the year. All the Detroit big 3, Dubai World and Banks will need more time to prove their stability. Therefore, it is expected for US Dollar to be the preference of parking of wealth.

2. South African Rand – Year 2010 promises to change the whole of South Africa with the arrival of the FIFA World Cup. With high expectations, the Rand would be a hopeful punt with forex traders and for the South African themselves, hoping that (more…)

While most currencies depreciate against the US Dollar in Year 2009, the Chile Peso has gained some 20% against the US Dollar. While the strengthens the purchasing power of Chileans, it does not do any good for Chilean exporters as their products are now more expensive and less desirable. It is a known fact that a strong peso brings down import prices, contributing to lower consumer prices.

As recent as Nov 2009, 1 US Dollar trades at 485.0 Chilean Peso (CLP) while things are quite different just in late August 2009 when the exchange rate of Chilean Peso against US Dollar was weak (1 US Dollar = 562 Peso).

In the past 2 weeks, the US Dollar has strengthened against major currencies including the Chilean Peso (CLP) (more…)

It has been more than 35 years since Bangladesh has a currency of their own, yet throughout these 35 years, it is noted that the Bangladeshi Taka (BDT) has been on a decline against major currencies around the world, including the US Dollar.

Currently, 1 US Dollar trades at about 68.88 Bangladeshi Taka, or 1 Bangladeshi Taka compared against 0.0145 USD. While this rate is still higher compared to its neighbour Pakistan, there is little indication if the Bangladeshi may appreciate against the US Dollar in the long term.

The value of the Bangladeshi Taka is often affected by the remittance of US Dollar by Bangladeshis working overseas. Many Bangladeshis work overseas as maids, construction workers and other similar low paying jobs, but earning salary still  much higher than if they would had earned in Bangladesh. While there could be hardship, most Bangladeshi are able to endure the time away from home as they will usually head home once they have saved up enough after about 5-10 years, enough for them to setup their own businesses or if they are lucky enough, to retire. In the meantime, the money they remit back (in US Dollar or other currencies) means that there is a stable demand for the Bangladeshi Taka, preventing the value of the Bangladeshi from sliding.

One key trend that can potentially reverse the depreciation of the Bangladeshi Taka is to increase the remittance amount by their overseas citizens. This can be increased not by having more citizens working overseas, but by having citizens working overseas remitting more money home. This will require (more…)